Move with the times
'I WORKED two years in a large US pharmaceutical group American Cynamid, before joining Cartier in 1981. Since then I have made my life in the wonderful world of luxury goods. After 15 years with Cartier, during which I was in charge of the Canadian, the UK and lastly the Asian markets, and 14 years with Piaget as chief executive.
I joined Piaget first between 1992 and 1996, as the deputy managing director. I then went back to Hong Kong to manage Cartier again in Asia. In 1999, I was offered the job of Piaget chief executive. It was too good an opportunity to pass. And I knew that Piaget strength in Asia would give me many chances to come back to Asia.
The challenging part of my job is travelling everywhere in the world, while at the same time looking after the creative side, and the production side.
Balancing tradition with modernity has always been part of Piaget's DNA. Our best asset is our manufactures. In La C?te-aux-F?es, where we produce all the movements, it's all about precision and tradition. In Geneva where we design, and produce all the cases and bracelets, it's a much more extroverted atmosphere, and it's more about glamour, style and reality.
I have played a big role in establishing Piaget's boutique concept. Boutiques are important for a brand, because they give you a chance to come face-to-face with the consumer. You can show the romance of the brand and explain its roots and its legitimacy. We love to be able to show our passion and our pride. Young customers are now used to shopping in our boutiques.
For Piaget, the product is the star. We continue to be innovative and creative. We have also developed ladies' jewellery watches, a significant range of elegant watches for men. Equipped with our own movements including highly complicated movements, we have a beautiful range of ultra-thin watches.
We have been active in China since the early 1990s. We made the choice early, aware of the great artistic culture and tradition of China. Hence today, Piaget is recognised as one of the best luxury brands in the world by Chinese clients. We are very proud of that.
Piaget is an exclusive brand, maybe the most exclusive. Our watches are all in gold, with the exception of the Piaget Polo FortyFive which is in titanium. We produce in small quantities, and value product integrity more than anything else. Our products are all made by our manufactures, the inside and the outside. This matters greatly to watch collectors.
I am always thinking about the future. We want to stay focused on watches and jewellery. No diversification plans. We want to keep a very balanced business, between jewellery watches and elegant men's watches. We want to continue to build on our unique combination of great watchmaker and great Jeweller. We will continue to focus on Asia, where we value the clientele and its constant requirement for more creativity and innovation.
Our objective is to find the right balance between glamour and elegance. We produce only watches that fit our 3C's requirement. They must be creative, contemporary yet classical. Our clients are 60 per cent women and 40 per cent men, and always younger. Age 30 to 45 today is the key segment.
I own more than 20 watches. Beside my Piaget watches, I have classical models from Patek, Breguet and Cartier which I adore.'
